Detection of Brucella among Voluntary Blood Donors in Turkey by Using a New Real Time PCR Method

Bnicellosis is a worldwide zoonosis also the incidence of which has decreased in developed countries it is still effective in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Mediterranean basin (Turkey inside) that have insufficient public health and domestic animal health programs. There are many reports about Brucella endemics in Turkey. Although, human to human transmission is not frequently, it has been reported in association with blood transfusion, bone marrow transplantation and transplacental transmission in worldwide and Turkey. Human brucellosis is diagnosed based on clinical findings and laboratory studies that include bacteriological and serological tests. The conventional serological tests are insufficiently sensitive and specific to be used individually and often leading to difficulty in interpreting the results. In this study, researchers aimed the detection of possible Brucella carriers without manifest chnHcal finding among voluntary blood donors by using new real time PCR Method. Total 632 voluntary donor blood samples for four month were investigated for Brucella. The samples were subjected to both Wright and ELISA tests for Brucella. In the second step, leucocytes were separated from all samples and performed real time PCR based on BioRad I-Cycler. Although, the region is not high risk epidemiologic area for Brucellosis in. Turkey 4 out of total 632 samples were detected by Wright agglutination and Brucella IgG, IgM ELISA while 2 positive samples were found by I-Cycler based real time PCR detection. All of positive samples were collected from rural area donors. Even it is not in high prevalence, this results and earlier studies were shown brucellosis could be a risk for blood transfusion. Researchers advice especially donors from coming rural area must be performed a questionnaire for brucellosis findings and Brucella screening tests must be performed for blood donors in endemic areas

An Evaluation of the Apical Seal in Oval-shaped Root Canals Prepared with Either Self-adjusting Files or ProTaper Files

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the apical seal obtained with lateral compaction of gutta-percha in oval-shaped root canals prepared with either self-adjusting files or ProTaper rotary files. Materials and Methods: Twelve pairs of extracted mandibular premolars with oval-shaped root canals were randomly divided into two groups. The first group was biomechanically prepared with ProTaper files, while the self-adjusting file system was used in the second group. The roots were obturated using cold lateral compaction of gutta-percha. Apical microleakage was measured with the computerized fluid filtration method. The results were analyzed statistically using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: All of the roots in both groups showed leakage. Group 1 demonstrated significantly less microleakage (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Instrumentation of oval-shaped canals using a self-adjusting file system with cold lateral compaction of gutta-percha demonstrated significantly greater apical microleakage when compared to ProTaper. The apical leakage with different obturation techniques, combined with self-adjusting files, should be evaluated in further studies

Prognostic significance of surgical margin status and gleason grade at the positive surgical margin in predicting biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy in a turkish patient cohort

Objective: To investigate the prognostic role of positive surgical margin (PSM) features in addition to well-defined risk factors in predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy. Materials and Methods: This study used the prostate cancer database from the Urooncology Association in Turkey. Clinical, surgical, pathological and follow-up data were recorded from the database. PSM features, including number, location, linear length and Gleason grade (GG) were also recorded. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed to assess differences in BCR-free survival (BCR-FS). In order to identify prognostic factors affecting BCR-FS, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed. Results: The study included 984 patients who met the eligibility criteria. The median follow-up time was 29 (minimum: 6, maximum: 210) months, and BCR was detected in 178 (18.1%) patients. BCR-FS was found to be significantly lower in patients with higher total prostate-specific antigen, higher International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade, extraprostatic extension (EPE), seminal vesicle invasion, lymphovascular invasion, lymph node involvement, PSM and GG at PSM (PSMGG) >= 4 (log-rank p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001 and p=0.005). ISUP grade, EPE and PSM were identified as independent prognostic factors in predicting BCR-FS [Hazard ratio (HR): 1.89, p=0.035 and HR: 4.65, p<0.001, HR: 1.82, p=0.030, HR: 1.77, p=0.042, respectively]. Unlike the univariate analysis, in multivariate analysis, PSMGG did not prove to be an independent prognostic factor in predicting BCR-FS. Conclusion: PSM GG >= 4 was found to be significantly associated with shorter BCR-FS. There is a need for large, randomised prospective studies to clarify the role of PSMGG to be used in nomograms as an independent predictor to determine patients who would benefit from adjuvant radiation therapy

Editorial of Special Issue of National Identities: Alevism as an ethno-religious identity: Contested boundaries

No abstract for editorial but this is the opening paragraph: This special issue on Alevism and trans/national Alevi identity critically engages with the relationship between religion, ethnicity and national identity. The core issues are as follows: • how ethnicity and religion are conceptualised for a relatively invisible ethnic group in different national contexts; • how religion and ethnicity intersect when Alevism is both a faith and an ethnic identity, especially when conceptions of that identity are contested; • how identity is shaped through state policies within different national policy contexts and how etic definitions of minority communities are constructed by the state or other agencies with the power to impose them on the community in contrast to the emic or self-definitions of Aleviness from within the Alevi community; • how despite the fragmented, heterogeneous nature of Alevi communities, there is also a sense of a single, transnational imaginary community, at least for the purposes of political assimilation/integration and activism; • how education and other arenas of political, religious and cultural engagement at local, national and transnational levels create the possibilities, both positively and negatively, for future action/policy to situate minority ethnic communities

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Detection of brucella among voluntary blood donors in Turkey by using new real time PCR method

WOS: 000239999300208

Association of serum paraoxonase concentration with serum lipid levels and bone mineral density measurements in early postmenopausal women

Objective To determine the association of serum paraoxonase concentration with serum lipid levels and bone mineral density in early postmenopausal Turkish women. Design One hundred healthy postmenopausal women were included in a cross-sectional study in a University hospital clinic. Blood was drawn from women who had bone mineral density (BMD) measurements during routine visits. BMD of the lumbar vertebrae was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The serum paraoxonase concentration and serum lipid levels were measured. Women were divided into two groups: those with normal lumbar vertebrae BMD and those with osteopenic lumbar vertebrae. Serum paraoxonase concentration was compared between the groups. The correlation between serum paraoxonase concentration and bone mass parameters was performed using Pearson's test. Results The paraoxonase concentration in the osteopenic group was significantly lower than in the group with normal lumbar vertebrae BMD. The paraoxonase concentration was moderately correlated with total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels among early postmenopausal Turkish women. Conclusions Early postmenopausal women with osteopenic lumbar vertebrae have significantly lower paraoxonase concentration than those with normal lumbar vertebrae BMD. Further studies are needed to clarify the associations between the osteoporosis risk factors and paraoxonase concentration during late postmenopausal years

Does cardiovascular risk vary according to the criteria for a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome?

AimThe risk of cardiovascular disease is higher in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared to healthy individuals. Chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, hyperandrogenemia, hyperlipidemia and increased oxidative stress are known to have a role in the formation of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate if cardiovascular risk varied according to different PCOS criteria, using carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), which is an important marker of major cardiovascular events in the later stages of life. MethodsThe study group included 52 women aged 18-35 diagnosed with PCOS, and the control group comprised 45 age-matched healthy women. Body mass index, CIMT, fasting serum glucose and insulin levels and hormonal and lipid profiles were compared between the groups. ResultsThere was no significant difference in CIMT levels between the groups. The CIMT levels in the PCOS group did not differ whether hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovary-like appearance on ultrasound or oligo/anovulation status were present or not. Furthermore, when all cases were divided into subgroups according to BMI values, the CIMT values were similar between the groups. ConclusionBecause PCOS and atherosclerosis both have a complex nature, it is likely that the evaluation of CIMT alone may not be sufficient to determine endothelial dysfunction in a reproductive age group

Specification, Verification, and Synthesis of Concurrency Control Components

Run-time errors in concurrent programs are generally due to wrong usage of synchronization primitives such as monitors. Conventional validation techniques such as testing become ineffective for concurrent programs since the state space increases exponentially with the number of concurrent processes. In this paper, we propose an approach in which 1) the concurrency control component of a concurrent program is formally specified, 2) it is verified automatically using model checking, and 3) the code for concurrency control component is automatically generated. We use monitors as the synchronization primitive to control access to a shared resource by multiple concurrent processes. Since our approach decouples concurrency control component from rest of the implementation it is scalable. We demonstrate its scalability by applying our approach to a case study on Airport Ground Traffic Control